ENGLISH MEDIEVAL COSTUMES SERIES

When considering the way people dress in the present day, are there any similarities to the way people dressed in the Middle Ages?

ENGLISH MEDIEVAL COSTUMES SERIES

“The rise in popularity of series like Merlin and to a much greater extent Game of Thrones – which does a pretty good job of giving a fairly accurate yet highly stylized image of medieval clothing – is going some way to changing this perception and is allowing modern audiences a more privileged and entertaining window into the past.”ģ.

“As far as the medieval period is concerned, the ‘past is a different country’, where things were done differently and where social practices were very much behind what we consider to be the norm nowadays. We often romanticise the fashions of the medieval period Is it difficult for modern audiences to truly understand the significance clothing held at that time? Costume is essential to what it means to be human, and to our notions of how and why this matters.”Ģ. Beyond this, the choices we make in selecting the garments with which we wish to costume ourselves indicates the way that we perceive ourselves, our role in the world, and the image of this which we’d like to project to others. “The two things that set humans apart from animals are speech and the desire – after the Fall – to clothe our bodies not just for warmth and protection, but also to cover ‘shameful’ nakedness. How important do you think 'costume' will be in addressing the key themes of the 'Being Human' festival? One of your research areas is the history of dress.

She talks here to School of the Arts student, Ella Poyzer, about the importance of clothing and costume in both the Middle Ages and modern day.ġ.

She is also working with Professor Peverley and the Liverpool University Players, on the production of the 12 th century story, ‘The Werewolf.’ Indispensable for students of costume history, medievalists, illustrators, and fashion historians, Medieval Costume in England and France will delight anyone interested in the medieval period and its dress.Being Human: “A window into the past” of medieval costumeĭr Rebecca Dixon, from the University’s Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, is working with Professor Sarah Peverley in the Department of English on a workshop in medieval fashion for school pupils as part of the city’s Being Human Festival. The clear, succinct text is splendidly documented by 350 black-and-white line illustrations based on contemporary books and manuscripts as well as representations in paintings and sculpture. Also examined is a wide variety of accessories and ornaments, jewelry, armor, textiles, embroidery, coiffures, and other items. Included are elaborate royal, academic, and legal costumes Eucharistic vestments and garments of religious orders working class apparel civilian dress and more. Houston provides detailed descriptions and illustrations of actual apparel worn by all classes and sectors of society. Following an illuminating discussion of the style and construction of costumes worn in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, noted costume historian Mary G. This carefully researched volume offers lovers of both costume and the medieval period a meticulously researched and accurately detailed study of the clothing of the Middle Ages.

English medieval costumes